At first, the brutal murder of devoted teacher Simeonette Mapes-Crupi looked like a home invasion gone wrong. She taught at a school in a tough, Brooklyn neighbourhood and had revealed on social media that she’d recently witnessed a ‘wannabe gangsta’ shoot-out in the area.

Many determined that her death was the tragic consequence of violence in the area, but as the case started to unravel, police discovered sordid secrets that revealed the danger was far closer to home.

Simeonette, 29, was affectionately known to her loved ones as Sissy and she lived with her husband Jonathan in their New Springville home in New York City.

Simeonette was passionate about teaching and believed she’d found a kindred spirit in teacher Jonathan. He was busy completing a master’s degree so he could turn his English teaching job into a full-time position.

Grieving husband

But the couple were just weeks away from their fifth wedding anniversary when tragedy struck. At around 2pm on July 5, 2012, Jonathan called the police from his home in hysterics and said he’d found his wife dead.

He claimed he’d left the house at 7.30am that morning to run some errands and when he returned, the house had been ransacked, with furniture overturned, and objects broken.

Simeonette was found face down with multiple wounds in her back. She’d been pushed down the stairs and repeatedly stabbed.

Her family, friends and colleagues were devastated, and at her funeral, Jonathan sobbed as he threw two roses onto her coffin. But police quickly saw through his act and discovered the grieving widower was hiding a whole host of salacious secrets.

On his computer, they found that Jonathan had internet searches including "how to throat slash" and "what destroys DNA?".

Jonathan told police that on the day his wife had been killed, he’d left her that morning to pick up some books she needed to teach summer school. Staff later said it was an unnecessary trip – she already had everything she needed. Jonathan was caught on CCTV, which backed up his alibi, but investigators believed Simeonette was already dead.

The most damning evidence was Jonathan’s weakness for prostitutes – he’d meet them when he was supposed to be at college studying. His favourite was ‘Miss Pumpkin’ who he’d been seeing for three years. Between leaving the house and returning to ‘discover’ his dead wife, Jonathan met Miss Pumpkin for sex.

Four months after the killing, Jonathan was arrested at his parents’ house, where he was staying. Simeonette’s family told the local press they’d suspected him all along. But there were no witnesses and no murder weapon was ever found. Would they get justice?

The trial started in June this year and Jonathan pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution alleged he’d killed his wife some time between 8.30pm on July 4 and 2pm on July 5. They said Simeonette had confronted her husband about the prostitutes, and how he’d fallen behind with his studies.

For Simeonette, her marriage and teaching were sacred, so she’d have been devastated. Had she asked for a divorce? Threatened to throw him out?

Jonathan in court (Image: Staten Island Advance)

In a rage, Jonathan pushed her down the stairs and, while she lay injured and defenceless, he stabbed her 15 times. Jonathan then trashed the house to make it look like a robbery gone wrong before heading out for sex with his favourite prostitute.

Miss Pumpkin, under the pseudonym Katie Smith, testified that she had sex with Jonathan, who she knew as ‘Mike’, every six to eight weeks.

"It was a regular thing over a period of a few years," she testified.

Her fee was $300 (£197)for a one-hour session. The first time they had sex was in 2009, at Jonathan’s home; after that they would meet up in motels. Sometimes he’d ask her to "bring a friend" and it would double the price.

Miss Pumpkin said that on July 5, hours after Simeonette was allegedly killed, Jonathan met her for sex. Usually he called the day before to arrange a meeting, but on this day, he called just an hour before, around 11am. They had sex then he returned home and ‘discovered’ his dead wife.

A month after Simonette’s death, Jonathan started meeting Miss Pumpkin for sex again – once a week at his parents’ home where he was still living.

Jonathan’s lawyer insisted that, despite the infidelities, his marriage wasn’t on the rocks and argued Simeonette was alive when Jonathan left that morning. With his errands and appointment with Miss Pumpkin, he wouldn’t have had the time to commit murder.

After a five-week trial the jury deliberated for just two hours and found Jonathan guilty of second-degree murder.

Lack of remorse

Simeonette’s mum, Theresa Mapes, was emotional outside court. "I wish this didn’t have to be. I wish we weren’t celebrating such a horrible thing," she said. "My daughter can rest in peace now."

At the sentencing in September, Jonathan, 33, was still claiming his innocence. He apologised for his cheating but said he hadn’t killed his wife.

"My lies and infidelity should never have played out in such a public forum," he said. "I’d like to apologise to my wife’s family.

"There is one thing I cannot apologise for. I did not kill her. I am an innocent man."

The judge was damning. "It’s hard to believe anything you say here today," he said. "The evidence of your guilt is as powerful as your lack of remorse. Your lack of remorse is amazing."

Jonathan received the maximum of 25 years to life in prison.

Finally, everyone knew exactly the type of husband Jonathan was. He betrayed his wife; lied and cheated for years then, literally stabbed her in the back to hide his guilt.